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Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American politician, who served as the first African American to be elected as governor of Virginia and first African-American governor of any state since Reconstruction.〔The first African-American governor of a U.S. state was P. B. S. Pinchback, who was not elected, but succeeded as Governor of Louisiana on December 9, 1872 upon the removal of his predecessor from office during Reconstruction. Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts, is the second African American to be elected governor, and became the third African-American governor overall.〕 Wilder served as the 66th Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. When earlier elected as Lieutenant Governor, he was the first African American elected to statewide office in Virginia. His most recent political office was Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, which he held from 2005 to 2009. ==Early life== Wilder was born on January 17, 1931 in the segregated Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond.〔Jessie Carney Smith, (Notable Black American Men ), Book 1, 1998, page 1218〕 He is the son of Beulah Olive (Richards) and Robert Judson Wilder,〔()〕 and is the grandson of slaves, his paternal grandparents having been enslaved in Goochland County.〔Donald P. Baker, ( Wilder: Hold Fast to Dreams; A Biography of L. Douglas Wilder ), 1989, page 3〕 The seventh of eight brothers and sisters, Wilder was named for the African American writers Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frederick Douglass.〔Associated Press, Spokane Spokesman-Review, (Virginia Gov. Wilder Running for President ), September 14, 1991〕 Wilder’s father sold insurance, his mother worked as a maid, and while never completely destitute, Wilder recalled his early years during the Great Depression as a childhood of "gentle poverty."〔Joe Taylor, Associated Press, (Wilder’s Roots in ‘Gentle Poverty’ ), Ocala Star-Banner, November 9, 1989〕 Wilder worked his way through Virginia Union University by waiting tables at hotels and shining shoes, graduating in 1951 with a degree in chemistry.〔Virginia Union University, (The Wilder Collection: Biographical Information ), retrieved October 5, 2013〕 Drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War, he volunteered for combat duty. At the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, he and two other men found themselves cut off from their unit, but they bluffed nineteen Chinese soldiers into surrendering, for which Wilder was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He was a Sergeant at the time of his discharge in 1953.〔Associated Press, Frederickburg Free Lance-Star, (Wilder: Former Governor Now a Candidate for Richmond Mayor ), September 26, 2004〕 Following the war, Wilder worked in the state medical examiner's office and pursued a master's degree in chemistry. In 1956 he changed his career plans and entered Howard University Law School. After graduating in 1959 he established a law practice in Richmond.〔CNN.com, (Then & Now: Douglas Wilder ), June 19, 2005〕 Wilder married Eunice Montgomery in 1958. The couple had three children before divorcing in 1978: Lynn Diana; Lawrence Douglas Jr.; and Loren Deane.〔B. Drummond Ayres, Jr., New York Times, (The 1989 Elections: The Virginia Contest; Man in the News; Lawrence Douglas Wilder; From Confrontation to Conciliation ), November 8, 1989〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Douglas Wilder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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